Engadget RSS Feedhttp://www.engadget.com
Engadgethttp://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gifEngadgethttp://www.engadget.com
en-usCopyright 2015 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/25/neighborhood-algorithm/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/25/neighborhood-algorithm/http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/25/neighborhood-algorithm/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments

Us humans are normally good at making quick judgments about neighborhoods. We can figure out whether we're safe, or if we're likely to find a certain store. Computers haven't had such an easy time of it, but that's changing now that MIT researchers have created a deep learning algorithm that sizes up neighborhoods roughly as well as humans. The code correlates what it sees in millions of Google Street View images with crime rates and points of interest; it can tell what a sketchy part of town looks like, or what you're likely to see near a McDonald's (taxis and police vans, apparently).

Whether it's touring an insanely large cruise ship or the Polar Bear capital of the world, Google's Street View has you covered. But the search giant doesn't want to limit that virtual experience to tangible, real-life things, which is why it's teamed up with Bungie to let you experience the magical nature of Destiny by way ofStreet View. Once inside, explorers can choose to wander around and learn more about places that are key elements to the storyline of Bungie's new franchise. Destiny Planet View, as the map is officially known, offers detailed, 360-degree views of locations inside Mars, Venus and the moon. It gives the breakdown on various hotspots, more information on characters from a particular territory and allows users to access Destiny tips along the way. Bungie points out that this is the first time Google's mapped a video game world, and it's a good one -- sure, it's pretty to look at, but the real goal is to get you even more hyped up ahead of Destiny's launch, next week on September 9th.

Google's Street View cars aren't just useful for scouting out a locale in advance -- they might be saving the planet, too. The vehicles have just helped the Environmental Defense Fund publish methane gas leak maps for Boston, Indianapolis and New York City's Staten Island. The Google cars roamed around cities using sensors that could detect both the location and scale of one of the dangerous leaks, driving by at least twice to make sure the results weren't a fluke. Depending on where you live, the data is either reassuring or scary; the older pipes in Boston and Staten Island have an abundance of leaks, while Indianapolis' more recent infrastructure is keeping the problems to a minimum.

So far, you've had to swing by Cooperstown to pay homage at the National Baseball Hall of Fame -- not very practical if you're a West coast fan. Thankfully, you can honor those sports legends from home now that the Hall of Fame and its museum have landed in Google's Cultural Institute. The addition lets you browse through the museum's classic jerseys and other memorabilia in Street View. If you'd rather not do the virtual legwork, there are two photo galleries that show how baseball has evolved over the decades. It's doubtful that a virtual trip will evoke as much nostalgia as the real thing, but it's certainly easier than booking a flight.

After touring the canals of Venice and braving the Polar Bear capital of the world, you can now visit the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia... virtually, that is. The armchair adventurer's best friend, Google Street View, now touts around 90,000 panoramic images of the vast 12th century Khmer wonder. Google took photos of Angkor Wat's glorious temples, sculptures and wall carvings, using both its Street View cars and its 40-pound backpacks called Trekkers, which Hawaii's local government recently used to capture its beaches on film. To make the experience even fuller, Google's also adding 300 exhibits of various Angkor Wat-related artworks to its virtual museum. Obviously, there's nothing quite like admiring the complex's architecture in person, but hey, this could be good enough for folks who can't pack up and travel the world.

Previously, free rein to explore the labyrinthine laboratory that is CERN has been granted only to the lucky, or those with four degrees and an aptitude for finding theoretical particles. That changes today, however, as anyone can now explore the home of the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland through Google Street View. All the imagery was captured back in 2011, but it's finally been stitched together, allowing you to wander freely around the site of the famous particle accelerator and learn a little about its experiments. Hit up Google Views to begin your personal guided tour, and let us know if you spot this Higgs fellow everyone's so keen on finding.

Exercise-driven video tours are nothing new, but Active Theory may have a found a way to keep them interesting with its upcoming BitGym app for Android and iOS. The motion-tracking fitness title will now include Street View Hyperlapse videos that take athletes across whole regions, like New York City or a European country, in less than 40 minutes. Only six videos will be available to start, but the company won't have trouble adding more tours when there's plenty of places to go in Street View. Active Theory warns that Hyperlapse might disappear; Google's terms of service for Street View reportedly leave such clips in a gray area, which could lead to a takedown. If you're willing to take a chance on the concept, however, you can fund BitGym's Kickstarter project today.

Once you're done couch-surfing that spectacular Google Street View of the Burj Khalifa, you can now head on over a few thousand miles with a click of the mouse to the Eiffel Tower, where the views are no less impressive. The fine folks over at Mountain View used a special Street View Trolley to capture marvelous 360-degree shots from every floor of the historical monument as part of a collaboration with the Eiffel Tower Operating Company. Google's Cultural Institute then collated all those images and presented them in three online exhibits along with historical documents that tell the story of the landmark's birth and cultural impact. You can head over to the Cultural Institute link below to get a slice of Parisian history, or just take a peek after the break to see a video of how those panoramic shots were taken. Unfortunately, you'll have to supply your own croissants.

]]>
eiffeltowergooglegooglestreetviewstreetviewTue, 16 Jul 2013 18:11:00 -040021|20667360http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/03/monticello-street-view/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/03/monticello-street-view/http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/03/monticello-street-view/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
With Independence Day right around the corner, there's no better time to get to know America's Founding Fathers. And now, Google Street View is taking you into the home of one. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello residence -- both the exterior and interior -- is now open to visitors who can't make the trek out there. Considering Jefferson's own fascination with cartography, we like to think he'd get a kick out of it. Ready to start your tour? Hop on over to the source link below.

The folks from Mountain View are constantly adding more and more features to Street View -- and, well, today's no exception. Via its Maps blog, Google announced that it's giving Street View a hefty boost by adding over 1,000 fresh destinations to the mix, noting that the idea is to make it "more comprehensive and useful for you." There's new imagery from places in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada and, of course, the US, allowing users to check out sites like the Seville Cathedral (Spain), Bosque de Chapultepec (Mexico), The Mark Twain House (USA) and many, many others. Google's highlighted some of these new destinations on its website, so pay the source link below a visit if you're interested in a quick, virtual tour around the world.

While Google has practically blanketed New York City with eye-level imagery, few would doubt that there's still ground left to cover. The search giant is filling in some of those gaps with new Google Maps galleries for a trio of historic areas. A collaboration with Historypin lets the curious glimpse photos and videos of regions affected by Hurricane Sandy; those who want to visit the 9/11 Memorial, meanwhile, can see Street View panoramas of both the North and South pools. Google is also expanding its Street View coverage of Central Park to include its many legendary trails, not just the roadways. If you've been meaning to pay a virtual tribute to any of these three spots, they're waiting for you at the source links.

If you've been taking far too many virtual road trips after employing the (unofficial) Street View Hyperlapse chauffeur, you may be running out of places to go next. Well, today Google has added Hungary and Lesotho (a country within South Africa) to the list of lands you can vicariously visit, which brings the total number of Street View-catalogued countries to 50. This being the "largest single update" since, well, the last big one, Google has also added "new and updated imagery for nearly 350,000 miles of roads across 14 countries," including more places of interest for its special collections, thanks to the Street View trike. So, why venture outdoors this lunchtime, when you can wander the streets of Budapest instead?

Google's been taking heat for a number of years since its Street View cars were found to be pulling WiFi data, and the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information has today hit the search giant with a 145,000 euro fine (almost $190,000) for its indiscretions. You may not remember this specific case in Germany -- it was nearly three years ago that investigations began, after all -- but it has now come to a close with this fine and the ruling that El Goog illegally recorded personal data including emails, passwords and pictures, which have all reportedly been deleted. We know the company has enough cash to pay in full, so the ruling will likely make more of a dent to its image than its bank account.

It's been more than two years since the tragic Eastern Japan tsunami and resulting Fukushima Prefecture nuclear plant crisis, but many of those who lived in affected areas still can't return: witness the 21,000 residents of Namie, who had to evacuate and haven't been back since. Thanks to a newly published Google Street View run, those former residents can once more see the town they had to leave. The 360-degree imagery shows Namie in the deserted state it faces today, with little recovery work done or possible. Google's photos can't accelerate the recovery process, but Mayor Tamotsu Baba views them as an incentive to eventually return -- and a better way for the rest of the world to understand the tsunami's long-term effects.

During today's Nintendo Direct presentation, Iwata-san had plenty of game footage to show to Japan-based fans, but he also casually mentioned that Google-powered maps and street vistas would arrive on the Wii U at the end of January 2013. As demonstrated by the man himself, you'll be able to swing the GamePad around to get the best view of anywhere that's been documented by Google -- including underwater. Navigation looks similar to the previously-seen Wii U Panorama View (which Nintendo confirmed would arrive Spring 2013) and although Street View isn't motion video, there's admittedly more to see from Google's cartography. You'll be able to navigate down roads, and use the vanilla map view and street view on both the big-screen and the GamePad. If you're liking what you hear, you'd better be quick: the app will launch free for two months, after which users will have to pay an as-yet-unmentioned price for access.

You might remember Google's unveiling this spring of the Street View Trekker, a seeming cross between a backpack and Van de Graaff generator that lets the mapping team produce 360-degree imagery where even trikes dare not tread. The portable camera ball is just going on its first trip, and Google has chosen the most natural destination for a novice tourist -- the Grand Canyon, of course. Staffers with Trekkers are currently walking trails along the South Rim of the canyon to provide both eye-level points of reference for wayward hikers as well as some breathtaking, controllable panoramas for those who can't (or won't) make it to Arizona. Once the photos make it to Street View sometime in the undefined near future, it'll be that much easier to turn down Aunt Matilda's 3-hour vacation slideshow.

Ever wonder how Google can make such grandiose claims for the sheer amount of Street View imagery it collects? Here's how. Google's Masrur Odinaev has posted a snapshot of a central mapping car parking lot that shows dozens of the camera-equipped Subaru Imprezas amassed ahead of future runs. While it already represents more Street View cars in one place than anyone outside of Google would normally ever see, what's most impressive is remembering that this addresses just a portion of the entire vehicle mix -- aside from the local cars you don't see in the photo, there are extra units worldwide providing street-level coverage alongside tricycles and underwater expeditions. Odinaev's look reminds us just how much effort is needed to make Street View a common feature -- and that there are are legions of Google staffers whose low-profile work goes a long way towards making our navigation easier.

Google's eponymous mapping system has received plenty of good press recently, but the company knows it can't take some time out to enjoy its position. As such, Mountain View's pushing out what it calls the biggest update to Street View it has ever undertaken, refreshing 250,000 miles of road imagery and doubling the amount of special collections. Some of the new attractions you can visit from the comfort of your home include Catherine Palace in Russia, Stanley Park in Vancouver and Singapore's Fort Canning Park. We're thinking we might have to use the system the next time we fancy a cultural visit -- after all, we'd save a pile on airfares.

While the hubbub surrounding Apple Maps on iOS 6 has been somewhat sedated, some people who made the move to Google Maps' web app had been further encouraged by word that it'd be getting Street View imagery soon. And what do you know, barely seven days into the estimated "in two weeks" and here it is. Search for a location (no long press yet), and you'll spy the familiar icon bottom right. This appears in both Chrome and Safari. While perhaps still not quite as slick as the good old app of yore, a definite panacea for all those iOS toutin' virtual tourists.

After working on its sea legs for some time, Google Street View is ready to take users on virtual scuba expeditions through six living coral reefs with the first underwater panoramic images to hit the service. In partnership with The Catlin Seaview Survey, Mountain View created the on-rails snorkeling experiences using undersea pictures from Heron, Lady Elliot and Wilson Islands at the Great Barrier Reef, Molokini Crater and Hanauma Bay in Hawaii and the Apo Islands in the Philippines. Combined with views from Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan, the new underwater tours might make for a respectable, desk-based vacation. Interested in paddling through the briny depths? Head past the break for a short preview or hit the source links below to dive right in.

It's been 30 years sincewe saw Deckard track down replicants by having a machine "enhance" pictures, and yet we're still stuck with distant-looking photos when we want more detail than our smartphone cameras can manage. While we'd argue that a few phones already live in that Blade Runner future, Google has just obtained a patent that could give the rest of us a helping hand. If the zoom isn't up to snuff, the proposed software could gauge a mobile device's position and orientation to offer a closer, already-taken photo from a server as a substitute, whether it's a Street View shot or a more traditional image. The geocoded system could even cue photos based on the time of day and year to provide that extra dash of authenticity. We already get a trace of the concept through photo overlays within Street View itself, although there's no indication as to whether or not Google will link our camera apps directly to a cloud of substitute photos -- suffice it to say that the industry has changed a lot since Google was using the iPhone 3G to illustrate its photography concepts.

They say you should never learn how the sausage gets made, but we're willing to make an exception for Google Maps. Talking to The Atlantic, Google has revealed just how much the human element figures into all that collected satellite imagery and road data. Many pieces of terrain information are tested and modified against what Google calls Ground Truth: actual driving, alternate sources and sign photos automatically extracted from Street View runs. Google isn't just making the occasional correction, either. Mapping a country can take hundreds of staff plugging away at the company's Atlas tool, even before we get a crack with Google Map Maker. The combination of man and machine helps explain why Google Maps is one of the most accurate sources of location information on Earth -- although the firm does have some catching up to do in space.

Third-party navigation apps still tend to fall apart when the keys are out of the ignition -- try to cut back on car use and you're often kicked over to another app with its own set of rules. Both Garmin's StreetPilot Onboard app and its Navigon equivalent are getting a much more holistic experience through respective upgrades due this fall. Android and iOS users alike can soon buy an Urban Guidance pack that factors buses, subways and other forms of public transportation into their on-foot routes. The playing field is leveling off for drivers willing to stretch their legs, too: iPhone owners with Navigon's app get the same last-mile walking directions and parking finder as their Android counterparts. StreetPilot iPhone app users are left out of this last addition, but they'll see compensation in the form of an optional Panorama View 3D mode and the Google Street View they're about to lose from Maps in iOS 6. The updated titles will still cost $30 for Navigon-only regional packs, $50 for editions with US-wide maps and $60 for all of North America, although you'll need to spend $5 more ($3 during the first two weeks) for Urban Guidance and $10 for the Panorama View 3D pack.

For a country that dominates the Latin American landscape, Brazil hasn't had much of a presence in Google Street View outside of major cities like Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. A fresh update to Street View coverage has just gone live that fleshes out the more far-flung corners of the map. It's now possible to see what it's like on the ground in much of the southern tip of the country as well as the northern coastline. Further north, Mexicans get their own treat: Google is now providing the panoramic views for ancient ruins such as Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan, just in case you'd rather not try to blend in with all the other tourists. The widened reach is undoubtedly no match for booking a flight and visiting in person, but it will save you the trouble of brushing up on your Portugese or ancient Mayan.

Google didn't have to head far from its Mountain View HQ to capture the 1930s golden age of British shipbuilding for Street View. The RMS Queen Mary, which personifies that era, is located conveniently down the coast from the California-based search giant at Long Beach. While it hasn't budged since the '60s, the former liner is a popular tourist attraction and has a hotel, museum and restaurants. Its Facebook page shows Google staff collecting images, and has promised that the historic site will appear on Street View "in the coming months." Until then, check the source below to see the camera-toting team prowling its oak-lined corridors.